This book was... blah... yeah, I know... not very informative. Let me elaborate for you. I enjoyed the first half of the book. It was great. I loved the characters, the plot was interesting, I love the world, and the concept of "Littles" was very intriguing. I had absolutely no complaints for the first half of the book. Then I read the second half... and I was bored out of my mind. It just went downhill. I don't get it. It was going so well. I was really into it. Mostly because of the fantasy elements because, let's face it, I love fantasy. It is my absolutely favorite genre with dystopian coming in a close second. The fact that I was reading a fantasy-based novel really made me excited, especially since it's been quite some time since I read a fantasy book. However, I was very disappointed once I saw where this book was going. It became slightly painful to finish but I managed to do it anyway. (I try to never leave a book unfinished.) Ugh! What really gets me is how dull the story got. I had to try to keep my eyes open because I felt that nothing was happening. And with the way things ended, you could say nothing happened at all... things literally goes in a circle and you feel as if you wasted your time. *Sighs* I hate when I waste my time...

I thought that maybe Charles de Lint's writing style might make me consider giving this book a higher rating but no. His writing style is way too confusing to follow at times. It started out great. Going from T.J.'s POV in third person seemed to work well for him. Then, he switches it up. It goes to Elizabeth's POV in first person. Getting used to the switch is a bit strange but doable. Then he switches it back to third person but from Geoff's POV and then the same thing with Jaime. I felt that it was all over the place and not well thought out. I don't have problems with switching POVs from time to time but he did it so frequently and then having the switch with third person and first person just made my head spin. If he had kept it in third person throughout the entire book, I think it would have flowed a lot more smoothly. Also, I could see that he has some talent for creating some story. I love the world of the many fairy type creatures he created. It was very magical and it was in so much detail that I found myself wishing I could go visit some time. X3 Unfortunately, that's as good as it gets. The plot, seeming to take off from one direction, goes to a completely different route. It leaves you baffled and wondering, "Uh... dude... weren't you going to do something ELSE?" Not to mention that once it takes this new twist, it results in absolutely nothing. Nothing, I says! It was dull, tedious, and just plain stupid.

The characters were no better! T.J. started out to be a pretty decent character. I love how she was kind yet didn't allow for people to walk all over her. She refused to change the way she dressed because she felt she didn't need to change for anyone. I love that! I love when characters have a mind of their own and don't want to give into the social norms. I respected her. She seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. However, this changed in the later half of the book. She became... stupid... *Twitch* For one thing, she couldn't keep a bloody secret. Telling people left and right what was going on with her. Also, the fact that, because she told someone and they reacted unexpectedly (more on this later), she went off with some biker dude she doesn't even know. In fact she goes off with strangers all the time in this book. (A total of FOUR times, to be exact!!!) Was she bloody five? She couldn't tell who was a stranger and who wasn't? Next she'll be running around the block with a pair of scissors in her hands! >_< The only thing that saved her ass was the biker turned out to be a nice guy. God, what a dumbass... could have gotten herself killed. Plus, she moves quick. She was first interested in Geoff then she moved onto Jaime; both who suck major balls. Geoff was the one who reacted unexpectedly to her "news." At first, he appeared to be a very kind, gentle boy. And to tell you the truth, he still is! The only thing I have to complain about him was how he acted towards her when she told him what was going on (which she shouldn't have said in the first place but I digress). He acted like a real douche. Then she got all defensive (which is normal) but then she does something horrible to him. At first, I didn't feel sorry for him. In fact, if you look at my status updates, you can see where I say that he actually deserved it. But now that I think about it... he was genuinely trying to care for her and protect her. He did the right thing so the fact that she lied and made him seem like a total perv, that was uncalled for. In the end, I sympathize with what he had to deal with. I really did like his character and the fact that she did that... *Shakes her head in disapproval* I know he was getting in the way but she literally was ruining his reputation. It was low, vile, and disgusting.

Oh, but the blame can't all go to T.J. No. This idea came all from Jaime, her love interest. The bloody bastard who has no spine of his own and thinks that he's a badass just because he hangs around with some cowards actually came up with the idea to sabotage Geoff. Okay, he's a bit of a jerk but Geoff didn't mean to say those things in a bad way. He was looking out for T.J. And this idiot (Jaime) had to come and ruin it. Seriously, he tries giving her some sob story for the reason as to why he hangs out with low-lifes. (And they are low-lifes.((By the way, the English dictionary is weird sometimes...)) They love beating up girls, stealing, doing drugs, and the like. The biggest low-life being Ricky. He seems to relish in doing these acts. The buta! >_That's not to say all the characters suck. I did love Elizabeth, or Tetty, was pretty kickass! I love her attitude. She was the tough-talking, sarcastic, punk bitch on the block! She was amazing. I love how, even when she was scared shitless, she still managed to be brave and face whatever came her way. She had a bit of a mean side but I felt that made her so much more real. There was nothing "goody-two shoes" about her. The only thing I didn't like about her was... she was a bit superficial. She cared a lot about appearance. Clothes in general. I get that she likes fashion but... sometimes... she pushed it too far. Still, she was a lot better than most of the characters here. Another character that I liked was Derek. He came off as your typical "My little sister annoys me" brother but he proved to be very caring and... possibly my favorite character out of the entire book. (He appears in just... two chapters... it's kinda sad he's my favorite.) But I love how he stood up for his sister. It was cute and I loved him. Jan... got in the way and made everything pointless... won't even say who he is. That's how pointless he was. *Sighs* Not too many memorable characters.

The book... kinda sucks. I'll give it credit in the fact it was interesting for the first half, not all the characters suck, and it definitely didn't lack in the unpredictability scale. Actually, that was a great thing to this book. I didn't expect a lot of the things that happened here to happen. Nice change. But everything else is just so blah, you want to run yourself, HEAD FIRST!, into a wall. Bah! I hate when this happens. The book has so much promise and then POOF! All gone because of one turn of events or other... yeah. Rain is not pleased. I was hoping for a great fantasy adventure! ...what I got? A pathetic attempt at writing thrown together like a jigsaw puzzle for the reader to decipher whilst dodging all the idiotic characters that come your way... minus one. (I really did enjoy Derek's character. He was cute~) Kids, do yourself a favor and skip this one. This is so not a fantasy book worth reading. Well, if you're really curious, get it from the library first. Save your money and read it before you decide to add it to your collection. Either way... yeah... I warned you. >_<

Note to Self: Never write a review when you've been up longer than 29 hours. *Nods*